Shading in Enamels

Hi Patsy
Just enjoyed viewing all of your designs! Do you have any suggestions on shading within the cells of your cloisonne or know of any publications I could read to help me out?

thank you,
Wendy Edwards

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for visiting and I am happy to try to help. I can not recommend one book for this but I can say for me it took time. I was a Fine Arts Major in school and only used pin and ink. My love was drawing. When I first saw cloisonne I was hooked forever and begin a quest to learn colors.
I photographed everything that was of interest to me. When diving, hiking, walking, always carrying a camera. With these photo I made albums to use as resources. I would take a month or so at a time and draw and paint till I got the impact I needed in my art. It takes time to look and see the colors.There is more than one or two whites in a white flower petal.

The Huma Huma on the front of the site has 29 colors from blue to green. My color plate of pinks has at least 20 colors on it. Now I know this is way too much for many artist but if I lay these colors next to each other I can create a beautiful image.

A book of watercolors I used is “Light Up Your Watercolors” by Linda Stevens Moyer. She has a couple of exercises you can try, and she uses her warm colors to bring the information forward. Also try “Colored Pencil Fast Techniques” by Bet Borgenson. She teaches Juxtaposing Color which is great for color impact. You can use her exercises in watercolors as well.

And come join us in Mendocino Art Center this July as we will be focusing on color, color impact, and how to get it!I

Happy Enameling! Patsy